The Affairs of the Earl of Bothwell

The following narrative of the events
preceding Bothwell's flight from Scotland, was completed on 5 January 1568
while Bothwell was in the Castle of Copenhagen. Originally written in French
under the title "Les Affaires du Conte de Boduel", it was intended to procure
his release. There exists another document called "Confession"
allegedly written by Bothwell on his death bed, but this was probably written much later on Mary's
behalf to secure her release. As will also be remembered, Bothwell died insane
in extremely dire conditions. (The original text is available from the National
Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Also, see note below. )

In order that the King of Denmark and the Council of his Realm may better and
more clearly understand the malice and treachery of my accusers named below: I
have, as concisely as possible, included and truthfully exposed the reason for
the unrest and upheavals which ensued, of which they only are the chief authors
and instigators, from the year 1559 until today.

I have similarly exposed their lies, and the great wrong and harm they have done
to me, which I can and want to claim as genuine as, may it please God, each and
everyone will be able to see and understand for themselves.

Copenhagen, on the Eve of the Epiphany, MDLXVIII

Below are the names of the main Leaders and Instigators of all this unrest and
sedition.

Lords Home
Sanquhar
Sempill
Ruthven
Tullibardine
The Provost of Edinburgh
Sir James Balfour

The abovementioned Lords, weary of the obedience and loyalty that they owed
their superior, engaged in manoeuvres and secret gatherings all over the Realm,
in order to stir up the common people and facilitate their enterprises; and in
order to more easily persuade them that the cause was just and worthy, they used
the pretext that they wanted to preserve Religion, and thus the conspiracy in
which they entered against their Queen (I pass on many other issues and charges
of which they are guilty) began with the siege of the town of Leith, and
continued with their efforts, as much against Her Majesty than the Lords of her
Council and her other loyal subjects who were in the said town. Similarly they
chased into their houses those who were on the fields, and who did not want to
join them, and harmed them in the worst possible manner by ransacking their
houses and fortresses: and they did much wrong to several wealthy people across
the Realm, notwithstanding the fact that the Queen, with the ordinary nobility
and her other subjects, had previously resolved to reform the religion and put
it back in good order, without any pressure on her part at all. Nevertheless,
not content with that, they pursued their malicious deliberations, and with a
view to giving rise to further riots, they gave free access to the English, our
old enemies, allying themselves to, and secretly plotting with them against the
Queen and those belonging to her Realm, and they once again besieged the town of
Leith (before which they had previously been forced to lift the siege) in order
to oust the French, who were guarding the said town against our said enemies.
The most Christian King shortly before had married the young Queen of Scotland,
which was the reason why the ordinary nobility and other subjects of the said
Realm promised her certain things, even by means of letters which they sent to
her Majesty in France through their Ambassadors, offering her their loyal
obedience as every good subject is bound to: But I do not know the reason which
motivated them to do so.

Second Sedition

The reason for and start of their hatred
and annoyance against me

However, (because of the aid which they received from England) the said
town was returned by the agreement reached between her said Majesty and
the Queen of England, which agreement was negotiated by their Ambassadors
and according to which it was ordered that all the old hatred and
resentment on both sides be extinguished. Nevertheless, their hearts were
so embittered, that they had those who had previously offended them and
harmed them during the said siege hunted down, especially myself, who (of which I am
unworthy) had been elected Lieutenant-General to the
Queen my lady, in order to attend to matters of war, and during which time
I did my best, within my rights as soldier, to capture several Scots and
Englishmen, and behaved impeccably in all matters as duty commended it. I
also seized on the Borders a certain sum of deniers sent from England for
the remuneration and upkeep of their soldiers.

The Queen returns to Scotland from France

Not long after the town of Leith had been returned, and
the French gone back to France, the most Christian King died. Then, the
Queen on the advice of her friends and at the request of her loyal
subjects, decided to return to her Realm. This she did in order to
maintain and strengthen the said alliance and agreement, and also in
acknowledgment of the loyal services rendered to her in her absence by her
said subjects. She rewarded me much more generously and honourably than I
deserved; which so displeased my enemies that with their devious
inventions and deceit, they managed to overturn the remarkable benevolence
and goodwill which the Queen bestowed upon me. Similarly, they had the
Earls of Arran and Huntly ousted; and all this, because the said Earl of
Arran was a close relative of her Majesty, and was eligible to succeed to
the throne; as for the Earl of Huntly and myself, because we might hinder
their designs.

Subtle moves and practices to succeed to
the crown

The leader of this sedition was the Earl of Moray,
bastard brother of her said Majesty, former canon and prior of St Andrews,
who considered that our demise would be most advantageous to him, and that
once we were defeated he would easily attain the goal to which he aspired,
which was to be the second person in the Realm, and bargained that the
Queen, the ordinary nobility and all the other subjects and generally all
the Scottish Estates, would unanimously consent to him inheriting the
crown, along with his issue or his close relatives, should the Queen die
without an heir.
To better tinge his insolence, he spread the rumour that the Earl of
Arran and I (who some time beforehand had made up over a quarrel we had
had) had decided to kill him and other Lords of the Council. Also, that I
intended to abduct the Queen and take her to one of my properties, which
seemed the most secure.

Our imprisonment

Thanks to such false accusations, it was ordered that we
be thrown in a narrow jail of Edinburgh Castle, no matter how much we
demanded to be heard in this matter, and protested that the due process of
law should be followed as in any other such case; which was declined.

The Earl of Huntly captured and killed

The Earl of Huntly, who had been charged with the same
deed, unaware of their intentions, was caught off guard as he went about
the country, and secretly murdered by the said Earl of Moray. The Earl of
Huntly’s son was also apprehended, brought to justice and condemned, and
all their properties and goods forfeited to the crown.When I heard
about this dreadful murder and unfair pursuit, I thought of a way of
finding out the truth about the Queen’s will toward me, and thus I was
told that she was well aware that I had been accused through hatred and
malice; but that however, she could in no way help me as she had no
authority herself, but that I should do the best I could.

My release and her cause

I become Captain
of the Scottish Guard

I am sent back to
Scotland instead of France

This answer was the reason why I endeavoured to escape
from jail and, once free, decided to travel to France by sea; but the
storm and gales pushed me towards England, where the Queen of England
demonstrated the greatest amicability, as strangely did also some of her
loyal subjects, far beyond my expectations, considering that during the
war, I had done irreparable damage to the borders and those who lived
there. I then left England to pursue my goal of going to France, after
receiving certain letters from the Queen of Scotland, which she had sent
to me in England, for the most Christian King and the Lords of his
Council, so that I may enjoy the status with which the nobility of my
country is honoured over there, thanks to the content of the old contract
agreed between the two said realms of France and Scotland. Being thus
equipped, I received letters from the Queen of Scotland in which she
ordered me to return to Scotland for the reasons which follow.

The Queen of Scotland marries a young
Prince named Henry Stuart

When the Queen discovered their wily and
malicious designs, desirous to sort out and enforce law and order in her
Realm for the benefit and relief of her subjects, she decided to marry a
young Prince of her blood, who had gone over to Scotland from England for
that purpose, hoping (as stands to reason) that nobody would hinder it,
but which the said rebels nevertheless tried their best to do because they
wished above all things that the Queen remained childless, for the
previously mentioned reasons; and also because they could not suffer that
anyone else apart from them had authority in the Realm, and anticipated
that they would be deprived of this by the said marriage.

Third Sedition and the designs of my
enemies

For that reason, after consorting with each
other, they decided to kill the said Prince and summoned their friends and
allies to this effect. Thus, shortly after the wedding celebrations of the
said Queen and the said Prince, the said conspirators decided to abduct
the said Queen and keep her prisoner, as they later did with malice,
contrary to their faithful promises, and the conditions to which they had
agreed; as will become clear in what follows.

The conspirators are driven out

As I
had returned from France in the meantime, she put me in charge of a
certain number of soldiers, her loyal subjects, and of my own friends,
with whom I endeavoured to chase the said Earl of Moray out of the Realm
of Scotland into England, which I succeeded in doing; in the meantime, all
the estates were convened to ascertain and decide which goods could be
forfeited to the crown.

Fourth Sedition for the death of Sir David

Some of the said Earl of Moray’s accomplices, who were following the
Queen’s court, in order to prevent the sentence stirred troubles anew, by
the perpetration of the murder of an Italian, Sir David, which murder took
place in the Queen’s chamber at Edinburgh Castle during her supper, where
none of his guards were to be
found, not even the Queen’s; and if (to avoid the danger) a few Lords and
I had not passed through a window behind the said dwelling, we would not
have received better treatment, especially that they had thus agreed
amongst themselves, or at least been forced to approve of such an evil and
loathsome deed.

The Earl of Morton, Lord Lindsay, Lord
Ruthven and others

The
said murder thus perpetrated following the advice and instance of the said Earl of Moray’s accomplices, the
latter returned from England, hoping to take over the government and hold
the Queen prisoner, whom they had already previously incarcerated in her
own home named the Holy Cross.

Their false pretext to tinge the said
murder

4000 men

The Earl of Moray
driven out for the second time

Declaration by the King
of Scotland concerning the letters and permission which the murderers
claimed having received from his Majesty

The hatred which they
developed against the King because of his declaration

To excuse the said murder, they said that
they had acted under the express order of their King and even had his
letters (bearing the Seal) to prove it.
Having left the dwelling of the said Queen safely, we mustered our best
friends, her Majesty’s loyal subjects, in order to release her and the
King her husband from the captivity in which they were detained, which we
did partly with industry and partly with force. The next day their
Majesties set off together for Edinburgh with a good number of people, and
chased the said Earl of Moray and his accomplices so vehemently, that they
were forced to leave the country. The Queen, most outraged by this
assassination bore them a great hatred, as did the nobility and the rest
of her subjects, but the King hated them even more. For as soon as he
arrived in the said city, he promptly issued a proclamation that
everything which the murderers (who had killed Sir David) had said about
his Majesty was lies. Further, he gave all the officials of the Estates
and subjects of the said Realm the express order that they were to
diligently uncover and imprison those who had taken part in the said deed
alongside the murderers whoever they may be, and have them sentenced to
death. And that if someone was found to have helped them in any way, they
were to be subjected to corporal punishment. Furthermore, those who
faithfully obeyed the said order would be generously rewarded. To serve as
an example, he had four of those present at the said murder hanged, two of
whom were executed on the square.
When some of the friends of those who were in exile saw the serious
punishment which the said King was imposing, they did not fail to warn the
others, who as a consequence developed such a hatred of the King, that
they strove to find a way of avenging themselves against his Majesty,
because he had publicly denied the order and the letters which they
claimed he had given them; and they were well aware that during his
lifetime, they could never safely live in Scotland, but always in fear of
their life, property and honour, as many others knew too.

The subtleties they used to achieve their
aims

Some time later, in order to facilitate the
achievement of their malicious designs, they promised to forget what had
happened in the past, and by showing themselves to be true friends, would
compensate those they had previously offended and hated. And by such
demonstrations and fine words, they appealed to those who were in a
position to help them regain the favour of the Queen and, among that of the other Lords, they also sought my help for that purpose. I did what I
could, under the pressure of their requests, as they relied heavily on me
due to the favour which her Majesty bestowed upon me and the access I had
to her. This I had only acquired thanks to the loyal duty with which I
served not only during the wars of Madam, her late mother’s time but also
her own, risking my life on several occasions and at my great expense, for
which she has very generously rewarded me not only with presents but also
with the additional responsibilities with which she honoured me.

My decision

After I had procured them their pardon and
they were allowed to accompany the court, I decided to rest and lead a
peaceful life after suffering in prison and exile, and to think no more of
revenge and feuds.

Their shiftiness

But those to whom such a pardon had been
granted, as they followed the court displayed such obedience and goodwill
towards everyone, that all the Lords and gentlemen of the Realm were
rejoicing, especially as former feuds had abated within the said court.
Nevertheless, they continued to persevere in their malicious designs,
seeking day and night a way of bringing about the death of the said King.
Shortly after, the King fell ill with small-pox, and took to his bed in a
house called Kirk’of Field (for fear of the harm it may cause to the
Queen’s health and that of the child) until he was cured, with the mutual
consent of the Queen and the Lords of her Council, who wished to preserve
both their health.

Fifth Sedition

Death of the King

Then the traitors, finding the moment so
appropriate, carried a quantity of gun powder to where the King was, which
they placed under his bed, and then set fire to it so that he was ejected and killed. This was done at the home of Sir James Balfour, on
whom the Queen had conferred a benefit and also given the governorship of
Edinburgh Castle, with all its treasures, jewels, silverware, clothes and
furniture, because it was the most powerful position of the Realm.

Testimony concerning my whereabouts when
the King was betrayed

On the same night as this event, a few Lords
of her Council were staying at the Queen’s home, called the Holy Rood, as
they usually are, and I was residing in the circumference, normally the
seat of the guard, a body of fifty men. I was lying in bed, by my first
Princess, sister of the Earl of Huntly, when her brothers came to me in
the morning to inform me of the King’s death, which displeased me greatly,
as it did several other Lords.

Thorough investigation carried out by
myself and the Earl of Huntly at the behest of the Queen and the Lords of
her Council

Their
manoeuvres to turn others into suspects

The said Earl of Huntly voiced the opinion
that a meeting should be convened immediately to discuss the means of
catching the traitors who had committed the said deed. The Queen, who was
greatly distressed and chagrined, and the said Lords of the Council then
ordered us to muster soldiers to carry out a thorough investigation and
capture the said traitors. This we did, and finding ourselves at the house
where the King lay dead, we firstly recovered his body and had it guarded
with due honour, and then we found a barrel (or vat) in which the powder
had been stored, which we kept after examining its markings.
Enraged we apprehended certain people suspected of the deed and held them
in custody, upon which they gave us their testimony concerning their
whereabouts at the time the murder was committed. Nevertheless, I
continued to investigate the matter with diligence so as to get to the
bottom of things, for I was not to know that I would be accused; some of
the Lords of the Council, fearing that the Queen and I would have them
investigated, joined forces and ganged up against the Queen and ourselves
to defeat us. However, they did their best to use every subtlety and
deceit in their power, posting their letters and placards at night at the
tolbooth, on church doors, and throughout the streets and crossroads, so as
to get me and my friends suspected of the said deed.

My urgent pleadings for my case to be heard

When I found out that I was being blamed and
accused by such devices of having committed such a crime of which I and
all my followers were innocent (as God is my witness), I begged the Queen
and Gentlemen of the Council to allow me to be brought to trial; and that,
if after a thorough examination I was found guilty, I should be punished
accordingly for such a heinous crime; but if I was found innocent (as I
really am), then let the rumours and blame be silenced, and let me be
given my due and the day of my appearance be set.

The first time I appeared in court and my
declaration

My
sentence

My adversaries'
protests

The Gentlemen of the Council assembled and
with them, many of the nobility and the common people, at the location
where I was summoned to appear. Among the Gentlemen of the Council and the
said nobility who were to try my case were those who follow, and who sided
against me: the Earl of Morton, Lord Ruthven, Lord Lindsay, Lord Sempel,
the Secretary, the Lord Justice Clerk and the Registrar and after that the
charges against me were read and that my adversaries (and chiefly my
adversary the Earl of Lennox who had been delayed and did not appear)
acknowledged that they had no fair case whatsoever against me, against my
bodily person, my property, nor my honour I was, according to the laws and
customs of the country, the order of my judges and consent of my parties
present, declared innocent, acquitted and discharged of all accusations,
which were that I had taken part in the plot and execution of the murder
of the King Henry my Lord and Master, for which there was no proof
whatsoever, but on the contrary, I proved by the good testimonies which I
provided, where I was when this misfortune occurred. After that my enemies
and adversaries realised that I had been acquitted and discharged and won
my case, they got up and begged me instantly not to pursue them for the
unjust complaints they had made against me. But their discourse was as far
from their hearts as it was close to their mouths, as I have since then
experienced and still do today.

The notices I posted in my just cause

For the second time, as is the custom in the
said country and following the rules of war, I had proclaimed by the town
crier in Edinburgh and posted notices sealed with my seal on church doors,
the tolbooth and other public locations in the following wording: For the
defence of my honour and reputation, if there be anyone, noble or base,
rich or poor, who wishes to accuse me of open or secret treason, let him
come forward so that I may challenge him in personal combat in this just
cause; whereupon no man ever answered me.

My sentence ratified by Parliament

Articles published

For the third time, I apologised before a
general assembly of three estates, which comprised the common nobility of
the country, all the bishops, abbots and priors, and all the main citizens
of the Realm, where my whole trial and sentence were reviewed and re-read,
all points thoroughly considered, to decide whether my case had been
legitimately tried or not, and whether there was not some item or evidence
fraudulently presented.
They declared that the due process of the law of the country had been
adhered to, and thus I remained acquitted and discharged of all
accusations. Furthermore, it was proclaimed by the town crier and in
writing that, under pain of death and after the said day, no one was to
accuse or slander me or my own people regarding the said matter.
After I had won my case (as already described) came to see me in my abode
twenty-eight men of the said Parliament of their own free will, without
being requested to; those were twelve Earls, eight bishops and eight
Lords; they did me the honour of offering me their alliance and friendship as
follows.

The honest offers, alliances and promises
made to me by the Lords of Parliament

Firstly, they recognised that I had done my
duty in defending my honour in all the things they had wanted to accuse me
of, and for this reason they would use their bodies, property, relatives
and friends and anything which may depend on it, in order to defend me
against those who would from then on pursue me in any way for the said
crime. Furthermore, they thanked me each in particular for having behaved
so amicably towards them, and gave me this speech: That they could see
that the Queen was widowed, and could still have children, having only one
young Prince at present. That they would not allow her to marry a
foreigner, and that it seemed to them that I was the most worthy in the
Realm. This considered, they had decided to do their utmost to bring about
this marriage, and they would oppose all those who tried to hinder it.

My wife repudiated

At the same time, they debated how I could
legitimately repudiate my first Princess, according to the divine laws of
the Church, and the custom of the country, and they convened forthwith.

My wedding to the Queen of Scotland

The Lords of the Council
wish me to set off for the borders to enforce law and order

Similarly, they conferred promptly with the
Queen on the way in which our marriage could be solemnly celebrated before
themselves and the Church assembly. The marriage having been consummated
and all conducted in good and due order, they presented me with the
government of the Realm so that I may enforce law and order, especially on
the English border, where murder, looting and theft were taking place on
both sides; this I granted them and left Edinburgh with the Queen who
wished to accompany me as far as a castle located seven leagues from the
town of Borthwick, where she had decided to stay until my return.

Sixth Sedition

2000 men

The two armies on the
field

On the said border, I found the enemies to
be so strong that it was impossible for me to turn them away, and I
returned forthwith to Borthwick (where the said Queen was) in order to
muster larger forces.
Then, the said rebels, my enemies, seeing me in the field with few men,
endeavoured to close in on me and kill me. For that reason, I left hastily
in order to assemble my friends and loyal subjects of the Queen, which I
managed so well that I released the said Queen from the said castle and
hounded our enemies, chasing them all the way into Edinburgh, where they
were welcomed. The said town and castle abandoned us and surrendered to
them.
The Earl of Huntly and the Archbishop of St Andrews, along with several
other Lords of the Council who were in the said town of Edinburgh, took up
arms as soon as they saw this turnaround to defend and preserve the said
town against the said rebels, but they did not succeed because the others
were the strongest, and thus they were defeated on that side.
When the said Earl and Archbishop saw that they could put up no resistance
against the rebels, to save themselves they voluntarily went to the castle
on the condition that they would be allowed to leave when it suited them.
But the promise made to them was not kept.
The Queen and I, to release them, left Dunbar Castle with as many soldiers
and her Majesty’s loyal subjects as we could muster in so little time, and
approached the said Edinburgh by about one German league. The said rebels
got out of the town and camped across from us, far out of the firing range
of a canon.

They declare the reasons which motivated
them to take up arms

Shortly after there arrived a gentleman sent
by them, who presented us the main reasons why they had come here, printed
as follows. Firstly, to free the Queen from the captivity in which I held
her, and also, to avenge the death of the King, as I described above, of
which I and my men were accused.
I answered their first point by saying that I did not hold the Queen
against her will, but loved and honoured her with the humility that she
deserved, and for which I referred them to herself.

I accepted to confront Lord Lindsay in
personal combat

Secondly, I continued to deny that I had
taken part in or consented to the death of his said Majesty. And albeit I
had previously been clearly and sufficient absolved, I declared once again
that, if there be any honourable gentleman of irreproachable lineage, who
wished to accuse me of such a deed, I was ready on the spot to defend my
honour and my life, between the two armies, in accordance with the notices
which I had had published in Edinburgh earlier, and the ancient customs of
war.
Whereupon a reply was made that there was one, named Lord Lindsay, who was
ready to meet me in the field, which the Queen and the Lords who
accompanied her did not find reasonable for the following reasons: the
said Lord Lindsay was not of close enough kinship to compare himself to
me, nor of noble enough rank or birth, especially that I was the worthy
husband of the Queen.
Nevertheless, I insisted and persuaded the Queen and all the others with
numerous reasons in support of my righteous cause, to finally consent to
the personal combat, as described above.

He who challenged me to personal combat is
nowhere to be found

Shortly after, I went to the spot where the
personal combat was to take place to wait for my enemy, and where I
remained until late that night, but he did not show himself nor did he
show any sign of wanting to appear, as I will prove (when the need arises)
with the backing of a thousand
gentlemen, with my life at stake. As night was falling, I prepared to fight
them and organised my harquebusiers, ready to march against them, as they
did on their side.

The Queen's answer in relation to the
captivity in which they considered she was held

The Queen negotiates with the rebels

The advice I gave the
Queen not to trust their fine words

A guarantee is
requested for the Queen

The Queen seeing me and her loyal subjects
on one side and the rebels on the other ready to join us, Lord of Grange
(who was one of the best warriors on the other side) reminded her the
reason why all these people were gathered there, which was to deliver her
Majesty from the abject servitude in which I held her, which she openly
denied before all those present.
And thus, as we were preparing to charge against each other, she searching
for any way to prevent a bloodshed, went up to them accompanied by the
said Lord of Grange, in order to discuss and decide the matter calmly. So
confident was she that she could go to them safely, without danger of
treason nor anyone daring to capture her, that she asked me not to come
forward with my soldiers. Whereupon I asked her to reflect on what she
wanted to do, and not to perish through her own kindness, for I knew only
too well their treacherous hearts, and that if she did not consent to
their demands, they would take her prisoner and rob her of her authority
without good cause. And so I begged her to retreat to Dunbar and leave us
to fight for her righteous cause, in conformity with the desire we had to
honour and serve her, and the affection which we bore the public good and
the peace of our nation. However, seeing that it was impossible for me to
change her mind, nor make her listen to any remonstrance, I asked her to
negotiate a safe-conduct with certain conditions that I would put forward
to them. The said Lord of Grange, who had come as their messenger, gave us
his word in their names.

A false guarantee is given to the Queen

For let it be understood that the said Lord
of Grange made out that he had been sent for the sole purpose, at the
request of all the others as a whole, of offering the Queen, as their
superior, genuine loyalty, and of giving her their assurance of a
safe-conduct to come and go before them, and that each and everyone of
them, according to their rank and dignity, wished nothing more than to
show her (after God) all due honour and obedience in everything it pleased
her Majesty to order them. Once everything had been granted under the
promise that it would be inviolably adhered to and honoured by the two
armies, in the presence of the nobility and the community there present,
she asked me to return to Dunbar with my army, where she would shortly
come to find me or at least, send for news.
Thus I took leave of her as she had requested me to do, leaning on the
faith and promise which they had given her in word and in letters…printed.
All this considered, each can openly acknowledge that their intention was,
had always been and still is, to unjustly encroach on the authority and
power of the Queen, their natural Princess, and under this
pretext (she divested of her authority) administer her Realm and
make the law everywhere.

The Queen is taken prisoner

She is led to Edinburgh

To Lochleven

This done, I took leave of the Queen and she
went towards them, who suddenly subjugated her under their guard. They took
her first to Edinburgh Castle where she stayed only one night. The
following day they took her to another castle located on a small island
named Lochleven, to make sure that she would not be able to warn me or
receive word from me, and also for fear that I would attempt to release
her from the said castle.

The Council convenes to discuss the Queen's
deliverance

Seeing that the long treacherous manoeuvres
succeeded in such fashion, we met up with the Lords named below and the
ordinary nobility. Firstly in the West and then in the North, considering
all ways in which we could bring about her deliverance.

The Duke of Châtelherault

Earls

Bishops

Lords

The Earls

of Huntly

The Archbishop
of St Andrews

The Lords

Herries

of Argyle

The Archbishop
of Glasgow

Seton

of Crawford

The Bishops

of Dunkeld

Oliphant

of Errol

of Aberdeen

Boyd

of Marischal

of Moray

Borthwick

of Eglinton

of Ross

Gray

of Cassillis

of Dunblane

Ogilvie

of Rothes

of Galloway

Glamis

of Montrose

of Argyle

Hay

of Caithness

of Brechin

Somerville

of Sutherland

of the Isles

Drummond

of Monteith

The Abbots

Lovat

of Arbroath

Saltoun

of Dunfermline

Forbes

of Kilwinning

Elphinstone

of Melrose

Fleming

of Deer

Livingston

of Kinross

of Glenluce

of Crosraguel

We all agreed to wait a little and not to pursue them in too much haste,
as enraged as they were, they would be wary that we wanted to free the
Queen whom they held captive, and whose life would have been in great
danger if we had put them under pressure.

The Council concluded that I should go to
France via Denmark

However, the unanimous decision
was reached by all those present, and by the letters and seals ratified by
those who could not be present at the time, that I should make my way to
France, through the Kingdom of Denmark, where I could acquire all things
necessary for my enterprise, and to send soldiers to Scotland by sea as
well as by land; and also to acquaint the King of Denmark with my
complaints and the full facts, believing that this would incite the said
King to give me his good advice, assistance, aid and favour, and in order
to obtain it more easily, I had to put myself at his service and offer all
that was in my power: and they were confident that the Queen would
approve. However, to be on the safe side, I endeavoured to obtain her
opinion which was, that she thought that the Lords had given me very good
advice, and asked me to carry it all out as diligently as possible.

I embark in the North of Scotland

I reach the island of
Orkney

I went ashore in
Shetland

Thus I embarked somewhere in the
North of Scotland, as mentioned above, having decided to follow this
advice. And passing by the Orkney and Shetland Islands I stopped there
staying only two days, but I went ashore in Shetland, where I encountered
some ships from Bremen and Hamburg, and negotiated with the Boatswains
what I would give them per month as long as they would serve me, as I
could not in such haste and under such pressure, acquire the ships I
wanted, apart from small vessels, which I then managed to find.
The conditions agreed with the man from Bremen, named Gerhard Hemlin, were
these: That I would give him a monthly rent of fifty solid crowns for as
long as he would serve me; and if, during the said service, his ship
perished or if I wanted to appropriate it, I would give him a rent of
(xvi…thall), and for his artillery, one hundred solid crowns, as is
apparent from the contracts which were exchanged between us two. The same
conditions applied to the one from Hamburg; but some of my enemies found
out that I was ashore at the house of the Receiver, and separated my ships
as I will explain.

My enemies pursue me with four ships

The above named rebels had
gathered four well armed ships and fitted out with soldiers and artillery,
whose leaders were the said Lord of Grange and Tullibardine, who at the
break of dawn entered a harbour of the said island called Bressay Sound,
where four of my vessels were moored; and as the boatswains caught sight
of them, my Captains and soldiers being ashore, they cut loose the
towropes of their ships and moved to another harbour to the north of the
said country, called Unst.

Our fight at sea

My great mast snapped

I reach the coast of
Norway

However, their main ship, which
was pursuing us, was closely observing one of my vessels which had the
slowest sail and to which they gave chase. My ship went ahead while the
other followed behind. But it so happened that the enemy ship (which was
chasing my slow one) and my own hit an open rock concealed under the sea,
so that their said ship, which was the better one and served as flagship,
remained there while mine, although somewhat damaged, escaped. When I
heard that my enemies intended to go ashore and pursue my people, I
embarked suddenly with them at the said harbour of Unst, where my
intention was not to stay but only to confront my said enemies, but these
three ships caught me so much by surprise and exerted such pressure (as
they had previously done), that I could not put up any resistance and was
obliged to set sail, and ordered one of my ships (the one in which was the
remainder of my silverware, clothes and furniture which I had brought from
Edinburgh Castle) to go to another harbour called Scalloway, and there to
convene with the said Hamburgers, and catch up with me on my way to
Denmark, as had been previously decided, and as he had promised the rest
of my people whom I had left behind in the said island. The said rebels
pursued me with such intensity that we fought for three whole hours and by
a strike of the canon, they snapped the great mast of my best ship. At the
same moment, a storm coming from the south-west broke out, which was of
such strength that I could not continue my said journey, and was pushed
towards the Norwegian coast, where I had to repair my vessels and
replenish their supplies as, due to my hurried departure these had not
been properly provisioned.
The day after I left Shetland, I arrived somewhere on the coast of Norway
called Karmesund, where I was taken to a ship from Rostock, which had been
following us that night, to lead us in daylight to the said harbour,
because my pilots did not know it: which he did and lent us his ship to
carry one of our towropes ashore.
In the meantime arrived Christen Aalborg, the Captain of one of the King
of Denmark’s ships named The Bear, and asked us where we were coming from
and where we wanted to go; to which the boatswain of my ship answered that
we were Scottish gentlemen wishing to go to Denmark to serve his Majesty.
I ordered that he be honoured according to the customs at sea and the
jurisdiction of foreign Princes.

The reason why I did not want to disclose
my identity at first

Captain Aalborg asked to see my
passports (or letters) to find out what we had on board. But because my
equipment was such, as it still is today, namely empty and devoid of all
things necessary to someone in my position, due to the fact that I had
left one of my vessels, which I awaited from one moment to the next, I did
not want to reveal who I was before I had recovered it, nor even go ashore
before reaching Denmark, however I sent him one of my gentlemen to make
him understand that due to the intense pursuit carried out against me in
Scotland, I had had no time to take the certificate nor the letters which he
requested, and that she who was supposed to release them was detained
under close guard. He then asked if there was anyone who spoke several
languages, who would come with him and converse for a while, which request
I fulfilled.
He asked the boatswain of my ship and several others of my men to go
aboard his ship in order to replenish our ships’ supplies and acquire
other necessary things, giving us to understand that a ship had arrived in
the said harbour, which contained what we needed. However, having them all
aboard, he detained them that night with fine words, and then called the
farmers in the area to rescue the ships of the King of Denmark, because
there were some pirates and Freibeuters [buccaneers] (he maintained) whom
he wanted to capture, according to the order he had received from the said
King, his master. However, he gave no hint to my said men who were with
him on his said ship, but led them to believe that he would only take them
to Bergen to recover the things which were necessary to them. There were
on the King’s said ship far fewer men in comparison to mine.

Letters of engagement by Captain Aalborg
which he breached

Moreover, he asked me to allow
my men to go aboard his ship, to the number of eighty, not because of any
bad opinion or suspicion he had of us, but only for the benefit of the
goods, which could not be recovered at the said place for the money; and
he gave us his word of honour that he would let us each return to our
respective ship and leave whenever we deemed fit (to which effect he gave
us a written engagement sealed with his seal) and furthermore, that we
would have a safe-conduct to go without delay where we wished; however, he
did not honour any of these points.
After we had entirely satisfied his request, he separated my men who
numbered almost one hundred and forty, and failed to his word and honour,
for a reason which we ignored, as we had never offended his Majesty, nor
displeased any of his subjects, nor even breached the laws of his waters,
nor taken the value of one penny without paying for it. So I declared who
I was and where I wanted to go; nevertheless he continued to hold me
prisoner like the others against all my hopes; for if I had known this, I
would not have behaved in the manner I thought most proper towards him and
his entourage, for I was twice as strong as he was.

Arrival in Bergen

Once arrived in Bergen, I asked
Erich Rosenkrantz to help me find, for my money, fresh vessels, to row me
along the coast (especially that I was seasick) so that I may reach
Denmark, and would he give me a passport for that
purpose. In the meantime, I sometimes stayed at the castle and sometimes
aboard the ship with some of my men during one month, and I walked several
times in the space of twenty days, through the town, wherever I pleased;
even if I had felt guilty of some misdeed, I would have been free to go
wherever I wanted. But I thank this good Sir Erich Rosenkrantz for the
trust he placed in me.

I was deprived of my men, then sent to
Denmark with 4 or 5 of my own people

My vessel which was supposed to follow
me, having reached the coast of Norway, turns straight back

After having waited a long time
for my passport, without which I did not want to leave, I was informed by
some town councillors, that Erich Rosenkrantz and the said councillors had
ordered that I should follow the ships of the said King to Denmark,
without allowing my men to follow, except four of five, and they dismissed
the others telling them to return to Scotland or wherever else they wished
to go.
When the vessel which I had sent to Shetland to fetch the men I had left
behind (in which were my goods, my silverware, clothes and jewels) as
mentioned above, and which was sailing along the coast of Norway, heard
that I was detained and my men sent home, it turned back: so that not only
have I been detained and arrested, here as elsewhere, for almost four and
a half months, against all my hopes, thinking that I had come to my
friends, although I had not been provided with a passport there where I am
being blamed and unfairly accused by my enemies, but also deprived of all
things necessary to someone in my position: which however, I consider far
less than the contumelies and indignities which I have endured in this
prison, especially that I am detained without good cause, and prevented
from attending to my business pertaining to certain Realms, with certain
Princes and Lords, for the deliverance of the Queen my Princess, and, as
it seems to me, to our infamy, harm and ruin, by those from whom I would
have hoped for help and assistance.

Second Letter of
the Earl James of Bothwell to the King of Denmark

As it is not permitted to me to speak in person to his
Majesty nor to these Gentlemen of his Council, to inform them of the
reason why I decided to come to this Realm, I am obliged to put in
writing, what I had hoped to declare face to face with his Majesty, and I
ask the good Sir Peter Oxe, grand master [Lord High Steward] of the said
Realm, to present this letter to his said Majesty. Firstly: great upheaval
and discord have taken place in Scotland, as much between the Magistrates*
as the common people of the said Realm, because some of the said
Magistrates have, under the cover of religion sought their own
advancement, wishing in the future, by the use of such illegitimate and
false pretexts, to subjugate the Realm under their power and authority.
And for this reason, the said Realm is divided in two parts. Whereupon,
the Queen and I having considered and acknowledged, that we could not
appease them nor forcefully put an end to it without infinite calamity
and great bloodshed, we endeavoured to tackle and ward off such
misfortunes and inconvenience with gentleness. And to this effect, the
Queen asked for the engagement and safe-conduct from our adversaries to
enable her to go to them freely and to confer and come to a mutually
satisfactory agreement, which would firstly serve a perfect union and
concord of her subjects, and the utility and benefit of the Realm.
For this reason, our said adversaries and their accomplices, made promises
to the Queen, Madam Marie, and gave her their engagement and inviolable
safe-conduct, which they then contravened and breached, and when the said
Queen went to meet them, they held her prisoner and took her to Lochleven
Castle, where she remains today: (as it is more thoroughly explained in
the letter which I wrote in my defence), which I wish to be delivered to
his Majesty so that he may become acquainted with the intention and final
will of the said Queen and of the Gentlemen of her Council, as follows.
Firstly, that I should ask his Majesty of Denmark, as ally and confederate
of the Queen, for his aid, favour and assistance, as much by the supply of
soldiers than ships to release her from the captivity in which she is
held.
To cover the expenses which might arise, I am to offer to his said Majesty
to return the Islands of Orkney and Shetland as free, without hindrance,
to the crown of Denmark and Norway, as they were some time ago.
Moreover, so that his Majesty and the Gentlemen of his Council may be
better assured of what is mentioned above (as is mentioned in the letter
which I wrote in my defence, and also briefly contained in the latter), I
beg his Majesty to please himself in drawing up a document with as narrow
conditions, for the said Islands of Orkney and Shetland, as his said
Majesty and the Councillors of the Realm of Denmark will consider fit for
their greater security; and I promise in good faith that the said document
will be sealed by the Queen, by myself and by the Council of the Realm of
Scotland, and signed by each of us of our own hand. Whereupon I beg his
said Majesty to honour me with an answer so that I may fulfil the promise
which I made the Queen of Scotland and the Council of the Realm, at their
own express behest, and also that they may know what they may hope for in
their extreme pain and necessity. From Malmö, the 13th January 1568.

*Throughout the text,
Bothwell uses the word nobles or nobility but then suddenly changes to
"Magistrates" in this second letter. I have kept the original word in this
translation, as Bothwell must have had his own reasons for using it.

I received these instructions at Malmö Castle on the 13th
January of the year 1568 from Sir James of Bothwell, Earl of Bothwell,
Duke of the Islands of Orkney, Husband of the Queen of Scotland, etc.; and
I presented it in Helsingborg to Sir Peter Oxe, in the presence of Jehan
Fris, Chancellor, on the 16th of January. Whereupon I received their own
answer at Copenhagen Castle; the xxi of the said month.

At the top of the
page, above the name of Bothwell, is written by the same hand the following
other comment: Historia de vita et exitu Jacobi Heburni Buthuelia Comitis
plenius descripta extat apud Buchananum Historiae Scoticae, Lib, xvii, xviii,
et xix. Item apud Thuanum Histor. Lib. Xl.

Bothwell’s Memoirs
only occupy sixteen sheets of the volume (which contains over two hundred). It
is written fairly neatly, although with a lot of abbreviations which made
deciphering difficult. Every now and then, there are additions and corrections
by another hand and very illegible. The author always talks about himself using
the first person (I), and this circumstance leaves us to presume that Bothwell, after
having had his manuscript tidied up, re-read it and added these corrections himself,
especially since the manuscript came from Denmark.

The undersigned has
carefully collated the copy requested by Professor Rask, with the original
manuscript, which is currently at the Library of Drottningholm, leisure castle
of His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway. Stockholm, the 5th of July 1828.